Is the NFL better off with the rookie wage scale?

When recently-drafted NFL rookies sign their contracts, it’s now not a big deal.

There’s no negotiation involved; from the moment a player knows where he will be drafted, his salary is predetermined.

Since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement was signed almost three years ago, rookie contracts have been calculated based on a formula that incorporates two factors: the league’s salary cap and a rookie compensation pool, which restricts the amount of money a team can spend on a first-year salaries and entire contracts.

The rookie compensation pool is split among the 32 franchises, based in proportion on total number of draft picks, and the position of those selections within the rounds.

A team whose draft position is earlier in the rounds, therefore, will have a larger slice of the rookie compensation pool than a team with the same number of selections who picks later in the rounds.

According to OverTheCap.com, the NFL’s rookie compensation pool is expected to swell to $978.9 million for 2014. Each team’s rookie pool estimate can be found here, with the St. Louis Rams projected to emerge with the biggest piece, at $55.9 million over the duration of the four-year period.

Estimates for the values of each draft pick can be found here, with the Houston Texans’ No. 1 overall selection Jadeveon Clowney expected to sign a deal worth $22.3 million.

According to the CBA, rookie contract length is determined as follows:

First-round selections have a fixed, four-year deal with a club option for a fifth year.

That gave Bradford the record for the most guaranteed money in NFL history at the time, all before he took one snap.

While those contracts offered the rookies a massive pay day and stability, they often crippled franchises. If first-round picks underwhelmed, it created an enormous financial investment on a below-average player. It made it even more essential for teams to hit on the players they drafted and avoid busts.

Sam Bradford (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

Ask the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers how damaging the respective contracts of quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf were to their franchises.

One benefit of the rookie pay scale?

It has eliminated the incident of rookie holdouts. It’s essential in a rookie’s development for him to learn the playbook and become immersed in the team’s locker room. With mega-deals to be negotiated in the past, rookies often held out of organized team activities and training camps as leverage plays against the franchises.

With contemporary rookie contracts basically requiring the two parties to meet and sign the document, rookies have been present in team facilities, absorbing their new playbooks.

For NFL franchises and owners, the rookie pay scale has been a big victory. It offers the team more leverage and time to develop players at a lower price.

The Seattle Seahawks, for instance, won the Super Bowl partly on the talents of quarterback Russell Wilson (four years, $3 million) and cornerback Richard Sherman (four years, $1.39 million). The two are arguably among the best players at their positions in the NFL, but the Seahawks paid them economical salaries from their rookie contracts.